G-Man's Experiment - Trouble in Terrorist Town
by Drakengard03
Summary: As part of the Administrator's social experiment, eight people are selected to fight for their lives by playing a cruel, mind-stimulating game meant to promote deception and murder. In this game of strategy and tactics, who will prove to be the most worthy among the crowd? Concept originates from the Trouble in Terrorist Town game mode in Garry's Mod.
1. Chapter 0 (The Beginning)

NOTE: I used the translator gizoogle to create Mike's dialogue.

Felix Hossil: Huh? Where am I?

Felix Hossil's vision shifts from darkness to a group of 7 other people, all arranged in a giant circle. Confused, he makes a quick 360 to observe the situation: endless grass field on all edges, with only a single, large platform supporting the group. Felix observes those around him more readily - two women, four standing men, and one guy... sleeping on the floor? Strangely enough, Felix could see _text_ visible above everybody's heads! Could this be... their names?

Midgeot: ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzz

Mike: How tha fuck did I git here?

Jerome: You're in the same boat as everybody else, I'm afraid.

One of the women looks up into the bright blue sky.

Claire: Ooohh... the sky's so pretty..

Charles: *whispers to Lee* Hey, that chick over there looks pretty cute, don't you think?

The second man checks her out.

Lee: I guess I can agree to that. But I don't judge before clarifying things. There are plenty of traps out there, man...

Charles: You really need to chill dude, unless those are some mighty fine implants, then-

Rachael: Oh shut up. Why would us women need _implants_ with guys like you out there who would do anything to get laid?

Charles faces the other woman and gives her a mean look. Jerome sighs.

 _What is their purpose in life? What makes them so special?_

Charles: Oh, trust me, I wouldn't go near girls like you with a 20 foot long pole.

Rachael: You don't got the balls t-

*Rachael is cut off as a large sizzling sound resonates throughout the place*

All: !?

Suddenly, the players hear a voice from the sky.

G-Man: Welcome, welcome my precious gamers!

All the players, save for the sleeping man, Midgeot, look up into the sky.

Rachael: And who the actual fuck are you?

G-Man: I, ma'am, am the Administrator. I run the place. The highest ranking you could possibly conceive. Please let me give out instruction without interruption, or there will be consequences.

Mike: And whoz ass tha fuck made you up in charg- *mute*

*Mike suddenly finds himself unable to speak*

G-Man: Well, I did warn you. Any other outbursts?

Everybody became dead silent.

G-Man: Great! Now then, I have gathered you lucky souls to participate in a social experiment: a game if you will. You will each be divided into two teams: the Innocents and the Traitors. Please note that using our advanced technology, things that you would have thought impossible before might be very basic procedures for us. If you have not yet noticed, every player here has a handy device strapped to their arm.

The crowd looks at their own piece; some knew it was there but hadn't paid much attention to it due to the short amount of time they had been awake.

G-Man: These devices are specialized for the user, and only that user can see the interface on their own device. Using this machine, you can utilize many nifty features, such as a clock that states the amount of time until the end of the round. But most important of all, it signalizes which team you are on. For the purposes of this round, there are two possible teams to be a part of: the Innocents or the Traitors. If you are chosen as an Innocent, you will observe your device and _only_ your device flash a bright green. If designated as a Traitor, your device will turn red, and you will also be able to see the red glare from other traitors' devices as well. This way, the Traitors will easily recognize who is on their team, for that is the whole point of the game!

The Administrator claps his hands together in excitement.

G-Man: The Traitors, being the minority, must work together to eliminate the Innocents.

The group's mouths fall in terror. Eliminate each other!?

G-Man: My players, you haven't even gotten to the interesting part! The Traitors can determine the Innocents from the Traitors very easily. However, players on the Innocent team CANNOT tell the difference in anyone's identity but their own. From their perspective, the target could be anybody.

G-Man: In short, the Innocents must kill the Traitors for them to win the game, and vice versa. The normal ratio is 1 Traitor per 4 players, indicating that there will be 2 Traitors and 6 Innocents in this round. You will be at a distinct advantage in terms of firearms if you are a Traitor, something which you will likely find out this very round.

G-Man: You also hold a special number dubbed your "karma", which directly associates itself with the amount of damage your weapons deal. You all start at 1000 karma. The greater your karma, the better. It may seem like a strange concept at first, but if you lose enough karma, your gun bullets can drop to the level of paintball damage or even weaker. If an Innocent kills another Innocent, or a Traitor kills another Traitor, their karma will drop significantly. Avoid this at all costs. Note that karma calculations only come into effect for future rounds, not the existing one. Going a round without such mistakes will raise karma back to its maximum state.

Looking around the stage, the Administrator can visibly detect the unease in his human guinea pigs. He chuckles, as if this was exactly what he wanted.

G-Man: There are three modes available in this game. Preparation Mode, a short amount of time before the teams are selected. Usually, everybody is given at least a crowbar and a magneto stick to start out with and must quickly find their own weapons. Haste-Mode, which is designated as the time of a game. This is typically when the bulk of the action occurs. Lastly is Over-Time, which is _extra_ time given in accordance to the number of innocents killed. Sometimes, special stipulations are added depending on the round's rules.

G-Man: The rest is for you to experiment with! For now, each player will receive a standard M16 and a pistol since there is no real space to roam freely. This is an experimental round, so for this round exclusively, you will not actually _die_ if you are "killed"! Oh no, in upcoming rounds, you will truly be playing with your life on the line, and only the survivors will continue to the next stage!

Felix grits his teeth together. He had sincerely hoped that players could at least re-spawn for future games... but it turned out that this is the only case!?

G-Man: ... However, the Traitors will lose 100 karma for the next round if no Innocents are killed this round, and every player killed now will also lose 100 karma. The mentioned teamkilling rules still apply all the same! Think wisely, because for the next round... death will face you at every corner. Have fun!

The sizzling sound returned, and the G-Man disappeared. Felix feels the device on this wrist vibrating relentlessly. He glances down to see what could be happening. What he sees makes his heart skip a beat.

 **Preparation Mode: 00:10 -** a mere 10 seconds to prepare, and the clock was ticking down.


	2. Chapter 1 (Let there be Blood?)

In front of each player lays the weapons promised to them, and everybody picks up their own set with tremendous haste. Counting down from 7 seconds on the clock, the tense atmosphere left hardly any room for breathing space. Every player scarcely glances at the neighbor next to them. Everybody except for the dude laying down at least, who, incredibly enough, seems to still be dozing off.

 _5 seconds._

Panic resonates throughout the crowd.

Jerome: Don't shoot no matter what, okay!?

Jerome, with his strong build and well-cut clothes, actually seems to have a delicate, professional tone about him. But little did it matter now; his entire body shakes in stunning fear.

2 seconds. Nobody responds to Jerome's desperate pleas. Everybody keeps their gun close to their bodies with a rapid trigger finger ready.

1 second. Time flows slowly in the realm of Felix's mind. He could swear Rachael is looking straight at him. The murder in her eyes... it feels all too real! What should he do!? Should he take the first shot? But tha-

BEEP! A blaring sound signals the start of the round... but something prevents the immediate rain of bullets. The first thing Felix inputs is an intense green light originating from the device on his wrist. It's so strong that it momentarily blinds him and renders him incapable of aiming his weapon. The light _stuns_ him from taking any action. Once the surge ends, the green light remains but merely as a glimmer. Green... it means he had been made an Innocent.

When his vision shifts back into focus, he observes the surrounding players. It doesn't take him long to realize that the light had done something significant: it silenced the chaos of the moment. He could not see anybody else's device shine, but he knows that this was what the G-man must have meant by status privacy - everybody's device shined, but only the owner could detect it.

The players calm down. Nobody feels the tension from just seconds before. After what seems like eternal quietness, Felix finally speaks up.

Felix: So how are we gonna do this, men and women? Are we just going to blindly shoot and risk everybody's demise before the round that actually matters?

Mike: This muthafuckaz right, we need ta quit trippin' up n' be thinkin dis through!

Charles lowers his M16.

Charles: Alright, that's fine by me. More chance that we all make it through this.

Everybody else lowers their weapons in response to Charles' gesture, everyone besides Midgeot, who continues snoozing.

Lee: But is it really the smartest move to just _sit_ here? I don't know about you guys, but I'm Innocent, and Traitors are out there to ensure that they don't lose their karma but take mine away in their place.

Rachael: Right, but any suggestions to root them out?

Jerome: Hehehe... isn't it obvious?

Everybody turns their sight to Jerome. His eyes are closed, which makes him actually feel more _confident_.

Jerome: The Innocents, in all actuality, have nothing to fear. We are the majority, after all. Remember, we won't lose anything by just standing here. The burden is all on the Traitors since they will be losing karma if no Innocents die this round. All we have to do is kill some time, and the Traitors will surely be the first to fire. When that happens, we can kill them before any Innocents end up dead! It's a flawless strategy, if you think about it. Plus, we wouldn't want to scar the lovely ladies now would we?

Everyone's eyes turn to Claire, who blushes red at the sudden attention. Rachael rolls her eyes. Of course the big breasts get the guys' attention.

Jerome: What do you say guys... and girls? We got a plan?

Mike: I be wit you all tha way!

Charles: Sucks to be you, Traitors!

Suddenly, a new voice speaks up.

Midgeot: You guys... have completely missed the point of this round.

Lee, the player closest to Midgeot, jumps from the sudden scare. The rest of the players stare at the new speaker with distrust apparent in their eyes. Rachael's free hand tightens into a fist.

Rachael: Oh, awake are you? You missed the whole explanation of the game, tough to say. Although, if you really did hear everything and just bluffed it, that sounds all the better to us. If you're against the idea, well then you're probably the Traitor yourself!

Rachael points her M16 at him, and the rest follow in her lead. Midgeot sighs and slowly shakes his head, as if shaming the other players.

Midgeot: Do you really think the owner would give instructions without knowing full well that the contenders were listening to them? I just felt that faking sleep was the best way to scout out the scenario without getting too involved myself. I especially wanted to stay clear out of the cross-fire when you guys were itching to kill each other at the start, but the devices cleared that problem for me.

Jerome points his finger at Midgeot.

Jerome: And how does this change the current dilemma? You can't take back what you just said.

Midgeot clears his bangs away from his eyes and stares at his aggressive audience.

Midgeot: What am I saying? I'm saying that the Traitors this round... are more vital than the entire Innocent group combined, no matter what team you are on.

The players almost drop their guns in surprise. What in the world could Midgeot mean by that!?

 **Haste-Mode: 18:45**


	3. Chapter 2 (A Sign of Goodness)

Midgeot: The Traitors this round... are more vital than the entire Innocent group combined.

Charles: What!? How could you say that! You're definitely..

Lee: ... a Traitor!

Mike: Explain yo ass, fool.

Midgeot: It's pretty simple, if you think about it. Tell me, what makes this round different from all the other rounds, based on what we know? The most _vital_ ones?

Jerome: Well, the obvious one is that we aren't permanently, er... dead, if killed. We don't stake nearly at much here as we will later on. The map will almost certainly change too, judging by the very nature of the game. This is way too open for a real round.

Midgeot: Exactly. This isn't a round that you're meant to play the same way as the other ones... it's a game of experimentation.

Everybody looked at Midgeot with fascination, and nobody interrupted.

Midgeot: Don't you think it's weird that there is such a large gap between the number of Innocents and Traitors in these rounds? Sure, Traitors can work together, but that alone is hard to win games. It's too unfair. But that's not actually all they have going for them. Remember what G-Man said? The Traitors will be given an advantage in terms of equipment. Obviously, it must be some powerful tools for the Traitor team to be capable of competing, but something's a bit coincidental... he didn't name any of them! In fact, he specifically stated: "that the rest is for you to experiment with"!

Midgeot: Basically, we have 0 clues on what the Traitors are truly capable of. Now, this won't cause much damage this round, but then again, who cares about this round? It's the NEXT one that we should really fight for. Knowledge in this game... is everything. For example, did you know that you can send messages to every player using your device? I'll show you now:

Everybody looked at their watches moments later, and sure enough, it showed Midgeot's name next to text saying: "The Traitors are Friends."

Midgeot: The biggest problem is getting the Traitors to admit their status in front of everybody, but I hope to change that! Of the eight players here, six will become the innocents next round. Even if you are a Traitor, it would be wise to share the information with the group, because chances are YOU will become an Innocent yourself. Would you rather work with a bunch of well-informed teammates, or ones left in the dark without even a hint of what to expect?

Midgeot: Now, a Traitor this round may think "Oh, I can just share this info next round, if I really do become an Innocent." That, however, is a foolish endeavor. If the map does change, as Jerome and I both predict, we may not all be able to locate each other in the given Preparation time. We may very well have lone Innocents stranded and at the hands of a Traitor. Times like those are when this information could save **lives**. The worst case scenario for the current Traitors is revealing all their secrets this round and become Traitors again the round after, but the chances heavily weigh against it. Actually, it's far more likely that only one current Traitor becomes the next Traitor. If that were to happen, he or she will most certainly attempt to kill their previous partner before they can spill the beans. I'm sure the current Traitors would want to avoid that at all costs...

Midgeot: Besides, the device could very well be linked to the Traitors' powers. If we don't let anybody use them this round, the Traitors with us may not even receive the information regardless. We would have no possible way to know. Now that I've said this, they will especially feel weary about using their device since it will be regarded as suspicious behavior. We want to promote teachings, not discourage them! And I daresay that you clowns... *his eyes drifts towards F#3 especially*... have done just that. This is our last chance to come on good terms with the Traitors, and I hope you all will make the right choice in helping this cause.

The groups' jaws dropped like little children learning where babies actually come from. After much silence, Felix finally took a stand.

Felix: This guy's right, and you know what?... I support this, hell yeah I do! And to prove it, I... I will jump off the platform to my death.

Group: What!?

Lee: Why would you do that! What purpose does it serve!?

Felix: If an Innocent dies, the Traitors don't lose karma. And thus, they no longer have a reason to kill. The Innocents don't gain anything from Traitor deaths, so it becomes a meaningless battle! Besides, since we're playing with numbers here, better that one person takes the karma hit then two, right? The greater good demands this...

Claire gasped, and Mike's head dropped in pity.

Mike: Yo ass gots guts, bro...

Rachael: Hell, even I don't wanna see this guy be our fucking sacrificial lamb like this...

Felix: I have to do what I have to do. With my death, please don't kill the Traitors. We need them to save many lives. I'll see yah next round..

Jerome: Please don't do that.

The group turned their focus to Jerome.

Jerome: It appears that I have truly made a grave mistake, and I want to make up for it to the best of my ability. I admit it: I'm a Traitor.

 _The curtain falls! Has peace been made?..._

 **Haste-Mode: 15:00**


End file.
